A hearty malt base is complemented by sweet cherry juice and cocoa nibs added during fermentation in this decadent take on a traditional porter.

Notes of rich chocolate and a hint of cherry sweetness make this full bodied porter the perfect treat to share now or to cellar until next Valentine’s Day.
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Thanks once again to Aaron Mendiola at beermetaldude.com for the hookup of this sweet beer. Yet another brewery we don’t see here in California. This one is from Boston Massachusetts and apparently ended up being really good and sweet as I read about it. This I had to see for myself so I was glad to get the opportunity to give it a shot. So here it goes, the Harpoon Black Forest, cheers!

Aromas:
Dark Chocolate, rich dark cherries, cherry cola, mocha coffee, cherry cordial, hazelnut, earthy hop notes, brown sugar, dark fruit raisins, caramel, Dr. Pepper hints, maple, mint, molasses, licorice, raspberry hints and flan hints.

Flavors:
Burst of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, dark cherries, cherry yogurt, mocha coffee, dark fruit raisins, earthy hops, flan, cinnamon, caramel, vanilla, cherry cola, maple, mint, chocolate chip cookies, molasses, licorice, brown sugar, maple, molasses, raspberry, nutmeg, pumpkin spice hints and hazelnut.

Aftertaste:
Dark chocolate, dark cherry, vanilla, caramel, earthy hops, coffee and molasses. No alcohol in the taste, a moderate to sipping drinking characteristic, full body, syrupy mouthfeel yet smooth. Nice and deadly!!

Overall:
If you love sweet beers, especially chocolate and cherry ones, then this one is just an example of a beer that definitely exceeds my expectations in that department by a few notches. The Chocolate and Cherry are a complete win here with some additional complexity while it still reminds you that you are drinking a porter. A porter with no head retention and very delicious. I really wish we could get this one here in California, I would definitely drink this one all the time. Thanks again Aaron!

Anime Corner:
Saber Alter and Matou Sakura from Fatestay Night were used in this pairing because as the name goes, black forest, I wanted to show not only the pairing of the name but the flavors. As you can see from the colors in these pictures, they pretty much represent all the nice complexities that the beer has to offer and prominently the dark cherries and chocolate flavors. This beer is so damn good and the fact that these characters are evil, it represents the seductive qualities such that the beer is so smooth and yet strong at the same time.